2020 Hypothetical Atlantic Hurricane Season (General Wreck)
The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season was active and deadly. With A total of 18 storms, 12 hurricanes, and 6 majors it was an active season. Season Forecasts Season Summary ImageSize = width:800 height:240 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:31/12/2019 till:31/12/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/01/2020 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_<39_mph_(0-62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39-73_mph_(63-117 km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74-95_mph_(119-153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96-110_mph_(154-177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111-130_mph_(178-209-km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_131-155_mph_(210-249_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_>=156_mph_(>=250_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:31/12/2019 till:05/01/2020 color:C1 text:Arthur (C1) from:30/04/2020 till:11/05/2020 color:C2 text:Bertha (C2) from:12/06/2020 till:17/06/2020 color:TS text:Cristobal (TS) from:22/06/2020 till:27/06/2020 color:TS text:Dolly (TS) from:26/06/2020 till:14/07/2020 color:C4 text:Edouard (C4) from:09/07/2020 till:18/07/2020 color:C3 text:Fay (C3) from:17/07/2020 till:26/07/2020 color:TS text:Gonzalo (TS) from:22/07/2020 till:31/07/2020 color:C2 text:Hanna (C2) from:09/08/2020 till:25/08/2020 color:C5 text:Isaias (C5) from:19/08/2020 till:31/08/2020 color:C5 text:Josephine (C5) Barset:Break from:29/08/2020 till:11/09/2020 color:TS text:Kyle (TS) from:09/09/2020 till:19/09/2020 color:C1 text:Laura (C1) from:27/09/2020 till:10/10/2020 color:C3 text:Marco (C3) from:30/09/2020 till:01/10/2020 color:TD text:TD 14 (TD) from:02/10/2020 till:16/10/2020 color:C2 text:Nana (C2) from:11/10/2020 till:18/10/2020 color:C1 text:Omar (C1) from:19/10/2020 till:23/10/2020 color:TS text:Paulette (TS) from:01/11/2020 till:05/11/2020 color:TS text:Rene (TS) from:15/11/2020 till:23/11/2020 color:C5 text:Stephen (C5) bar:Month width:7 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/02/2020 till:01/02/2020 text:January from:01/02/2020 till:01/03/2020 text:February from:01/03/2020 till:01/04/2020 text:March from:01/04/2020 till:01/06/2020 text:April from:01/05/2020 till:01/06/2020 text:May from:01/06/2020 till:01/07/2020 text:June from:01/07/2020 till:01/08/2020 text:July from:01/08/2020 till:01/09/2020 text:August from:01/09/2020 till:01/10/2020 text:September from:01/10/2020 till:01/11/2020 text:October from:01/11/2020 till:01/12/2020 text:November from:01/12/2020 till:31/12/2020 text:December TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)" Systems Hurricane Arthur On December 31, 2019, a Tropical Depression developed to the north of Nicaragua. It progressed northwest before slowing to a crawl and turning sharply east. A hurricane hunters aircraft investigating the cyclone found sustained winds of 38 mph at the centre and it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Arthur on January 1, becoming the earliest forming storm in Atlantic history. Then, Arthur took a track to the South-southwest and intensified into a hurricane on the next day. Reaching peak intensity with winds of 82 mph and a central pressure of 989 millibars, it made landfall in Honduras and weakened while heading more to the west. Arthur weakened to a Tropical Depression before it crossed into the East Pacific and dissipated in an unfavorable environment of high wind shear. Hurricane Bertha On April 30, the NHC began monitoring a wave located a few hundred kilometres south of the Virgin Islands. The system continued west across the Caribbean with little change in strength, until convection suddenly flared up and the system was upgraded to a Tropical Depression as it approached southern Hispaniola. It struggled to intensify as it continued, and made landfall in Jamaica where winds of 37 mph were reported, however the system soon became disorganized over Jamaica and lost depression status. As the system left Jamaica, however, it moved into a favorable environment and restrengthened to a Tropical Depression and then to a Tropical Storm once more and was named Bertha. The next day, Bertha assumed a more northwesterly course and became the second Hurricane of the season. It continued to strengthen up until landfall in Cancun, Mexico, with winds of 99 mph and a central pressure of 970 millibars, making it a Category 2 Hurricane. The pressure bottomed out at 969 millibars while Bertha was located directly over Cancun, however it weakened soon after and encountering an unfavorable environment in the central Gulf of Mexico, Bertha deteriorated into an open trough, although it still possessed Tropical Storm force winds. The NHC cited there was a slight chance (10 - 20%) of redevelopment into a Tropical Storm before its anticipated landfall in Mexico, however there was no evidence of redevelopment until two days before landfall, when suddenly Bertha redeveloped a circulation and developed convection over the western half of its wind field. Bertha continued to strengthen until it reached a secondary peak of 71 mph winds at its final landfall in Mexico. Soon, it weakened and the NHC issued its last advisory before Bertha dissipated over the mountains of Mexico. Tropical Storm Christobal On June 12, activity associated with a Tropical Wave was noticed to the north of Hispaniola. Despite only being given a low chance of development, it quickly coalesced as it moved along the north coast of Cuba. It was upgraded to Tropical Depression 2, and then, only 12 hours later, to Tropical Storm Christobal. It struggled against low outflow and moderate wind shear, being downgraded to a remnant low and then being upgraded to a Tropical Storm again within the time span of 12 hours. As Christobal turned north, however, it encountered a very favorable environment for strengthening and its winds increased to nearly hurricane-force before landfall in Florida. Christobal's core did not survive over land and it dissipated over open waters the next day. Tropical Storm Dolly On June 22, a quickly developing wave was spotted in the Western Caribbean. It coalesced into Tropical Storm Dolly within a day and intensified to a peak of 52 mph winds before landfall near the Mexico-Belize border. Weakening over land to a remnant low, The storm progressed into the Gulf of Mexico, where its intensity became unpredictable, intensifying to Tropical Storm then rapidly weakening to Remnant Low. After continuing in such manner for a few days over the Gulf of Mexico, Dolly was given "one final life" when convection formed around the circulation and Dolly regenerated into a Tropical Depression for a short time hours before the systems final landfall in Mexico and its subsequent dissipation.Due to the unpredictable nature of the storm, it caused 15 deaths, 14 in Mexico and one in Belize where a woman drowned in a rip current. Dolly caused catastrophic flooding in the Yucatan and damages amounted to over $342 Million US Dollars. Hurricane Edouard On June 26, the NHC noticed the development of a tropical wave in the open Atlantic. It headed northwest over the next two days, gradually organizing as it did so, until a closed circulation was found, marking the formation of Tropical Depression 4. It was soon after upgraded to a tropical storm, and named Edouard. It continued to progress northwest the next day and was upgraded to a hurricane. Edouard strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph before rapidly losing intensity due to high wind shear. However, this was short lived, as Edouard intensified into a hurricane again the next day, before aiming at Bermuda. The hurricane continued to slowly intensify over the next few days, until it rapidly intensified to a Category 4 and peaked at its closest approach to Bermuda, with winds of 140 mph and a central pressure of 934 millibars. Bermuda experienced damaging hurricane force winds until Edouard turned slightly more west and headed for North Carolina. Subsequently, Edouard weakened to a Category 3 hurricane as it underwent an eyewall replacement cycle and struggled against slightly higher wind shear. The hurricane stalled as it approached land, and re-intensified to a Category 4 before making landfall in North Carolina multiple times as it stalled unpredictably. Eventually, Edouard moved off the coast again and re-intensified to a Category 3 before making landfall on Long Island, New York and transitioning to an extratropical cyclone and dissipating over Canada. Hurricane Fay On July 9, a Tropical Disturbance developed near Puerto Rico. The system progressed to the northwest without further intensification until it was over the Bahamas, when the NHC started issuing advisories on the newly formed Tropical Depression 5. The system turned north and the NHC upgraded it to a Tropical Storm, and the storm was named Fay. Fay slowly strengthened as it moved towards the Floridian Coast, however a weakening ridge caused the storm to slow and turn north-northeast. The NHC upgraded Fay to a Hurricane a few hours later and a further twelve hours later it was investigated by a Hurricane Hunters Aircraft and found to be possessing 100 mph winds, a Category 2 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Fay then intensified quickly to a Category 3, becoming the Second Major Hurricane of the Season, and the storm turned towards South Carolina. On July 16 at 23:50 UTC, Fay made its first landfall on South Island, South Carolina, with winds of 118 mph and a central pressure of 950 millibars. Fay then made a Second Landfall on Cat Island, South Carolina at peak intensity with winds of 121 mph and a Central Pressure of 948 millibars at 23:55 UTC on July 16. Fay then made a final landfall at Pawleys Island, South Carolina with winds of 119 mph and a Central Pressure of 949 millibars at 00:00 UTC on July 17. Once over land, the storm crossed into North Carolina as a Category 1 Hurricane and dissipated on July 18 over the Appalachian Mountains. Tropical Storm Gonzalo A Tropical Wave was noticed by the NHC on July 17. It quickly developed and coalesced into Tropical Storm Gonzalo less than 2 days later. It began to head west and slowly intensified as it moved over the western Atlantic. Gonzalo was originally forecast to become a hurricane as it approached the Bahamas but a ridge caused it to stall and turn north before starting to head more easterly. Gonzalo reached its peak intensity with winds of 60 mph and its pressure deepened to 998 millibars before it hit Bermuda. moderate damage of around $1,233,000 was noted, and one person died in a rip current as the storm approached. As the storm made landfall, high waves hit the shores and a storm surge of 1 metre affected the island. After the storm cleared Bermuda, it began to weaken, as it was interacting with an extratropical system over Canada, which caused the storms structure to collapse and become extratropical. Soon after, it was absorbed by the exratropical cyclone, which continued across the north Atlantic and impacted Europe. Hurricane Hanna On July 22, a tropical disturbance developed in the central Caribbean. It slowly meandered west and the NHC monitored it as an invest. It slowly strengthened, and was upgraded to a tropical depression the next day. Then, at 18:00 UTC on July 24, the depression was upgraded to a Tropical Storm and received the name Hanna. Hanna continued westwards for the remainder of the day, before turning more northwesterly as it strengthened into a Category 1 Hurricane. Hanna then stalled near the coast of Nicaragua, but only until it had attained winds of 85 mph did it make landfall. Hanna weakened to a Tropical Storm then accelerated over Honduras. As it entered the Gulf of Honduras, Hanna began to undergo rapid intensification, however this was hindered by land interaction with Belize. the system only remained over water for 18 hours before it made landfall in Belize as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph and a central pressure of 979 millibars which bottomed out as it moved inland. Hanna then swerved to the north, entering the Gulf of Mexico for a short time before making a final landfall in the Mexican state of Tobasco and dissipating over land. Hurricane Isaias On August 9, a disturbance was noted to the east of the Lesser Antilles. It quickly coalesced into a Tropical Depression, and 6 hours later Gale force winds had wrapped around the centre and it was named Isaias. Isaias quickly organised and struck the Leeward Islands as a strong tropical storm with winds of 70 mph. As it entered the Caribbean, the NHC upgraded it to a hurricane. The next day, Isaias strengthened to a Category 2 Hurricane and soon after made landfall in Puerto Rico, with winds of 110 mph and a central pressure of 969 millibars. It weakened to a Category 1 as it passed over the island, but soon restrengthened in the open Atlantic. On August 14, the storm became a major hurricane as it headed westwards towards the Bahamas. Isaias stopped strengthening as it was mixing dry air out of its system, however intensification resumed soon after. As it headed west, the NHC upgraded it to a Category 4 hurricane, the second of the season. Isaias continued west and strengthened further as it approached the Bahamas. Although originally forecast to make landfall in the Turks and Caicos islands, it headed more northerly and intensified into the first Category 5 hurricane of the season. It made a direct landfall on Nassau, where it sunk the cruise ship Empire of the Seas on its maiden voyage. The only person killed in the incident was the Captain who went down with her ship. Isaias continued west, and reached peak intensity with winds of 165 mph and a central pressure of 908 millibars, before weakening slightly as it made landfall on Andros Island. Then, the storm continued west, and as the eye shifted slightly more to the north, the storm made its first US landfall near Homestead, Florida - almost exactly where Hurricane Andrew made landfall 28 years prior. Isaias continued through Florida and then entered the Gulf of Mexico, still as a Category 5 hurricane, before weakening as it underwent an eyewall replacement cycle. The next day, after completing the process, Isaias restrengthened to a Category 5 Hurricane, a status it held for more 18 hours, before it weakened to a Category 4 hurricane for the last time before making landfall at Inlet Beach, Florida and heading eastwards into South Carolina before finally dissipating. The storm caused $158.55 Billion (USD) in damage and killed 293 people over its course. Hurricane Josephine A tropical wave in the central Caribbean was noted by the NHC on August 19. It soon developed into a Tropical Depression, and less than 12 hours after its formation the system was upgraded to a tropical storm and was named Josephine. The storm then underwent rapid intensification and was upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane. It continued strengthening and soon became a category 2, however as it turned north it weakened due to dry air infecting it. Soon, Josephine resumed strengthening and underwent more rapid intensification. It was upgraded to a Category 4, and as it headed more to the west again it intensified more slowly. As Josephine turned westwards, it brushed the coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras as it intensified into a Category 5 Hurricane. The storm made its first landfall in Coxen Hole, Honduras with winds of 175 mph and a pressure of 909 millibars. Tropical Storm Kyle e Hurricane Laura x Hurricane Marco t Tropical Depression 14 On Hurricane Nana t Hurricane Omar e Tropical Storm Paulette x Tropical Storm Rene t Hurricane Stephen On November 15, a tropical wave that had just exited Africa began to show signs of organisation. The NHC soon began advisories on it as Tropical Depression 19, and just 6 hours later, it was upgraded to a Tropical Storm and received the name Stephen, becoming the eighteenth named storm of the season. The storm quickly intensified as it headed west, and soon it was upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane. Stephen then began to undergo rapid intensification, and soon made landfall in Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde, as a Category 3 Hurricane. The storm then turned to the north, and made a second landfall on Sal Island, Cape Verde as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds of 140 mph and a central pressure of 938 millibars. Stephen then re-curved to the northeast and intensified to a Category 5 Hurricane, the third of the season. The storm continued to intensify, and soon reached its peak intensity with winds of 175 mph and a central pressure of 908 millibars. However, it was not able to sustain its peak for long as Saharan dust began to weaken it. Stephen then made landfall to the south of Nouadhibou, Mauritania with winds of 155 mph and a pressure of 928 millibars before weakening and eventually dissipating over Algeria. Stephen was the easternmost Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, the Easternmost landfalling Hurricane, and the first Major Hurricane to make landfall in Africa. Season effects Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Above-average seasons